Sunday, April 08, 2012

Lessons Learned from Vay-Cay

Yah, yah, so I've been on vacation the past couple of days. That doesn't mean I'm not learning. Who says you have to be in school in order to fill your minds with wisdom? Not me! I present to you, the first in a two part series...

THINGS I LEARNED ON VACATION:

Lesson #1: John Steinbeck- one cool dude.

Husband to three wives, writer of two dozen books, and owner of one dog named Charly.

Who could ask for a better life?

Lesson #2: Owners of the John Steinbeck museum: They have bad taste.

A giant poster of Marilyn Monrow holding artichokes (?) with a creepy grin?

Extremely strange.

Naturally, I demanded my niece get in the picture so I could have it as part of my history forever.

Lesson #3: John Steinbeck wrote on his books and now they are saved in a very important museum. This means I am justified in writing all over my books because one day they, as well, will be preserved in a museum such as this one.

Lesson #4: My nieces are cute and one day I will want kids, as evidenced by how much I enjoy being around these two.

Lesson #5: Hmmm... some good writing advice from Steinbeck. Thank you, good sir!

Lesson #6: If I ever want to be a famous writer and have people remember me after I am gone I must

1) live in an awesome place like Monerey and

2) Have an absolutely beautiful home so people can drive past it and say "That's where Bonnie lived!"

This is Steinbeck's house-

Q: Do you think Johnny's at home?

A: No, he's dead, and if you don't know that you need to brush up on your Steinbeck!

Lesson #7: There are lots of places you could sit in a car.

Crammed inbetween two car seats in the back is not the best seat in the vehicle.

It is also not the worst.

Lesson #8: It would be worth it to pay ridiculously outrageous prices for housing if I could have an ocean view like this one every day.

Now, if I could just figure out how to make ridiculously outrageous amounts of money...

(High schoolers, I hate to tell you, you are not my answer)

Lesson #9: I should not take pictures in front of myself in front of windows.

Lesson #10: California is kind of pretty, I guess...

Lesson #11: If two babies fall asleep on you on your way to the beach and you still want to enjoy your time in the sand and the sun, the best thing to do is to just put both sleeping babies in a stroller, one on top of the other.

Do you need to worry that the upper baby will crush the lower baby?

Ummm... no.

I wouldn't.

Lesson #12: No matter where you go, you will always find entertainment in Asians tourists.

Here we have a bunch of Japanese surrounding a squirrel and taking pictures of him.

The squirrel= not that entertaining.

The Asians freaking out over the squirrel= Very entertaining.

Lesson #13: If you need to learn how to throw a football, just ask Dennis. He'll help you out.

Also, little kids have a very high tolerance to cold water.

These young bucks were absolutely frolicking in the water, despite freezing temperatures.

Lesson #14: A requirement for being on vacation is wearing sunglasses.

Also, the beach in Northern California in April is not as warm as one would hope.

Swimsuits not necessary.

Lesson #15: Trying to get boys to look at cameras is most often a futile endeavor.

and lastly....

Lesson #16: Monterey in the spring can be quite windy. Don't believe me? Just look at my sister's hair after an entire afternoon spent outside.

(Enjoy this picture while it lasts, folks.

I can guarantee that as soon as my sis sees it, she will make me take it down.)

i definitely love that house. your nieces are adorable. i would pay loads of money to live with a beach front view right outside my house. this looks amazing, i'm super jealous. also, i can't throw a football, and i don't think i'll ever learn, my hands are just too small to grip a football, lame. lots of good lessons learned.

Thank you for that tip about sleeping babies. haha. It's really a dilemma everytime they fall asleep when all you wanted is to stroll around. And I love houses with that amazing view of the ocean. By the way, that picture of your sis is adorable. haha <3